Contents

Contestants are poker players 21 or older who won a free qualifying tournament on Full Tilt Poker and were flown to Las Vegas for filming at Cin City Studios.[5]

In the show, the contestant chooses one of four doors, each with a poker professional behind it. Potential opponents include Phil Ivey, Howard Lederer, Chris Ferguson, Erick Lindgren, Erik Seidel, Allen Cunningham, John Juanda, Jennifer Harman, Phil Gordon, Andy Bloch, Mike Matusow, Gus Hansen, Huck Seed, Gavin Smith and Patrik Antonius. [4] The contestant then “faces the ace” in a heads up (one-on-one) Texas hold 'em poker match.[1][6] If the contestant defeats the pro, he can choose to either take US$40,000 and leave, or risk it all and play another pro for $200,000 in a second round. In the third and final round, the prize increases to $1,000,000.[1][6]

Face the Ace was the least-viewed program among the four major networks (Fox, CBS, ABC, and NBC) in the 9-10 pm timeslot when it premiered August 1, 2009.[7] The episode had 1.59 million viewers in its first 30 minutes on the air, but this number dropped to 1.54 million in the next 30 minutes, making it the only show in its timeslot to see a drop in viewership in its second half of airing. The show competed against America's Most Wanted on Fox, the movie “Red Eye” on ABC, and Numb3rs on CBS.[8]